With a new sustainable denim collection at Re/Done and a collab with Smashbox for vegan primer, Pamela Anderson embraces her next chapter and a little bit of good old-fashioned bedazzled ’90s nostalgia.
Pamela Anderson has been busy. Last August, she campaigned for Pandora’s lab-grown diamonds. In September, she turned heads at Paris Fashion Week by going makeup-free. In January, she announced ownership of Sonsie — a vegan, minimalist luxury skincare line. Then, last month, she partnered with Smashbox on a ’90s-inspired campaign for the label’s makeup primer — while still eschewing makeup in general. “I love the idea of a primer, because it kind of separates you from the makeup. So I’m thinking about how to protect your skin and how to still use makeup as an extension and expression, but not be the most important thing,” she told Bazaar.
Now, the former “Baywatch” star has unveiled a collection with sustainable denim label Re/Done, which is also inspired by her iconic ’90s style. The collection is more than just a revival of past styles; it represents Anderson’s journey toward what she calls, “redemption.” The range offers a nostalgic yet fresh look into the wardrobe that made Anderson a household name, while also embracing the star’s persistent sustainability ethos.
The Re/Done collection, which includes 25 pieces, places a strong emphasis on throwback ’90s denim and tees. Nearly half of the capsule is made from upcycled materials. The entire line is vegan — Anderson is a longtime vegan and animal rights activist — and features eco-conscious materials like low-impact washed recycled denim, California-grown regenerative cotton, apple-skin leather, and untreated organic cotton. It also features her ’90s flair for “bedazzling” with a bedazzled denim wrap skirt. “It looks like I took a bedazzling gun to it — I did used to take a bedazzling gun to things,” she told Nylon. “Bring back the bedazzler!”
Sean Barron, co-founder of Re/Done said there’s a natural synergy between the label and Anderson, highlighting the authentic connection and shared vision that fueled the collaboration. “The first time we met to talk about the collaboration, we sat on the floor in her hotel room talking about life, kids, and her favorite jeans,” Barron told Nylon. “I felt like I was hanging out with an old friend.” The Re/Done campaign was shot entirely by an all-female team.
Anderson, now 56, says this chapter is about embracing who she is. She’s been reflecting on her career and public image transformation, particularly after the release of her 2023 Netflix documentary, “Pamela, a Love Story,” and her memoir, “Love, Pamela.” Anderson noted there’s a cultural shift in perception toward her as well as her own shift in self-image. The Re/Done collection is a celebration of her journey to this point. “When I was a little girl, probably 5 or 6 years old, I used to think, ‘I’m going to recognize myself when I’m older,'” Anderson told Nylon. “Now is the time I recognize myself. If I look at myself now and I look at baby pictures, I think, ‘“’OK, there she is.’ In between, I don’t really know what happened. It was fun, wild, adventurous, but I feel closer to myself than I’ve ever felt and I think that took a long time and was a process.”
Anderson says it all feels new but familiar. “Even though I didn’t realize I was creating a fresh slate, I was taking off the layers. In peeling back the layers and being open and being vulnerable and intimate, I created a whole authentic kind of connection with people. I lost the shield,” she said. “Now I’m just an open wound … I don’t know what the next incarnation is going to be.”
Peeling off the makeup, living closer to the land — Anderson spends much of her time in her garden — the star feels she can be more playful now without trying to live up to impossible beauty standards. “Who am I trying to impress these days? I’m not in the game. I’m not some supermodel, I never have been,” she said. “It just kind of hit me, and in doing so and being authentic and really doing it for me, I think it resonated with people.”
The Smashbox partnership expands on the dialogue Anderson started during Fashion Week. “I am not trying to say that I’m this natural beauty guru [by going makeup-free]. I’m just experimenting,” she told Bazaar. “And when I didn’t wear makeup at Fashion Week, it was just for myself to go, ‘Why am I doing this? I mean, this whole glam team, it just seems too much for me. I don’t have much time in Paris, and I want to go wander around and look at the architecture. I don’t want to be in a makeup chair for three hours. Is that going to make someone like me more? Is that going to do something better for me? Why am I doing it?’”
Anderson calls it “living in the mystery” and underscores how much makeup has changed over the last three decades. “It was a lot more forgiving back [in the ’90s] when people were shooting you on film, or even when paparazzi [photos were] on film. Now with this new kind of digital photography and HD, it’s a different kind of makeup.” It’s why she says she thinks the safest bet is to be makeup-free. “Because once you start putting it on, you get so much information from these cameras. I guess primer does help, because it smooths your skin. This is a good product that I’ve tried and I love, but I don’t know what’s next. I don’t know what comes after the primer.”
Both collaborations share a message the star hopes will resonate with other women about authenticity and being true to yourself. “I like to have fun, and there’s glitter in my oatmeal lately, every day,” she told Bazaar. “Little by little, I am doing things that just make sense to me, which might not make sense to everybody else.”
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